The Transformation of Morristown's 'The Abbey' Underway for 2017 Mansion in May

By KRISTEN AGNES

February 2, 2017 at 4:57 PM

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MORRISTOWN, NJ - Local designers have begun transforming Alnwick Hall-The Abbey for this year's Mansion In May Designer Showroom. Alnwick Hall, known in recent years as The Abbey, was once the residence of Edward Peter Meany and his wife, Rosalie Behr. The brick mansion, designed for the Meanys by architect, Percy Griffin, and built between 1903 and 1904, was modeled after various fifteenth and sixteenth-century English prototypes, including Alnwick Castle in Northumberland, England. It is now a rare and largely unaltered survivor of “Millionaires’ Row,” the stretch of Madison Avenue between Morristown and Madison that, during the area’s Gilded Age, was lined by a nearly unbroken series of large and elegant estate houses.

Organized by the Women’s Association for the Morristown Medical Center, over 45 interior designers and landscapers from the Metropolitan area were selected to design one area in this thirty room estate. All funds raised will contribute to establishing the new Center for Nursing Innovation and Research at the Morristown Medical Center.

General Co-Chairs for this year’s Mansion in May fundraiser are Katie Nolle and Megan Cassie Schubinger. They are also working with Interior Design Chairs Susan Kiernan, Katherine Sheeleigh and Louetta Shioleno.

Designers were invited to attend a brunch on February 1 in order to begin planning their room design.

“Hosting the designers for their first walk through of their designated spaces was exciting,” said Kiernan. “When they learned about this year’s introduction of a new feature that will allow visitors to interactively tour The Abbey by accessing the designers’ pages on the website, they were extremely enthusiastic.”

CWI Designs from New Providence will be designing one of the larger rooms on the first floor of the mansion. Designer Rachel Kapner explained that they were nominated a few years ago by a client and even won “Best Room” at the last Mansion in May event in 2014.

“We usually begin (our design) with a fabric that inspires us,” she said. “This year’s room will feature accents of blue agate and marbleized agate.”

Other designers will be working on the remaining rooms on the first floor.

On the second floor, designer Sagri Freiber from Accents by Designs in Bedminster, chose to work in one of the smaller rooms in the estate. Her room design is called “The Believers War Room” and was inspired by Freiber’s own life experiences.

“I chose a smaller room because I feel that all homes should have a small, quiet place where you can sit and talk to God,” she said. She went on to say this room is not just for Christians or those who practice a specific religion, it is simply a quiet place to meditate and listen for messages from God.

Other designers from Morristown who are participating in this event are Custom Steel Ltd., Garden Cottage, John Puglionisi, John P. Turner and The Michael Thomas Collection. Additional designers participating in Mansion in May 2017 are:

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